We talk time and time again about how New York can be its own worst enemy. That holds true for the government and agencies. But it also applies to our shadow governments…the authorities. There are literally hundreds, even thousands of them, scattered throughout the region. And sometimes they take advantage of us. Like the Thruway Authority and their recent call for a toll increase.

There is good news however. Even though they cannot stop the increase themselves, state legislators are speaking out. We worked with Assemblyman Amedore two weeks ago when he called for changes. And now one of his colleagues is carrying the torch as well.

Legislators are starting to pay attention and take up the call. A 45% toll increase is only going to continue to hinder New York’s economy, and will do nothing to improve our business climate.

“This is a 45 percent increase on commercial trucks with three axles or more,” Tenney said. “What that does is it increases the cost of doing business in New York, because many of our small business owners and truckers, obviously, all rely on the New York State Thruway to deliver their goods to the market.”

Assemblywoman Tenney is absolutely correct. As we’ve said before, trucks already pay more to travel in New York than in surrounding states. Financial mismanagement on the part of the Thruway Authority does not warrant a bail out on the part of tax and toll payers. It’s nice to see at least one assembly member understands that.